After an evening enjoying true Americana “Eve of Destruction” kitsch at the Elko Speedway, a lovely Italian peasant brunch can really cleanse the soul! Not only was the soul cleansed, but my post Saturday bad-American-beer hangover was calmed with these garlicky greens served with a chewy loaf of ciabatta, puffy omelet and goat cheese feta. I can’t seem to get enough of Laylita’s cebollas encurtidas (pickled onions) http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/03/10/cebollas-encurtidas-or-pickled-onions/ so they were brought out again to top the plates.
Jeff does not eat eggs, so he loaded his plate with the ciabatta to mop up the greens and beans. He’s into Sriracha sauce lately, and loves to decorate the plates!
These greens are really easy to make especially if you have the beans already prepared. I usually have two or three kinds of beans in small containers in the freezer ready to work with. I like to cook dry beans because they are so inexpensive compared to the canned variety. Last week I bought two pounds of white navy beans, cooked them, and divided them into four freezer containers. We ate the first container right away with stuffed burritos, and then I had the others frozen to work with later. On Thursday when I got the first CSA box, I pulled out a container and just had it thaw in the fridge. They were ready to toss into the pan this morning.
Ingredients:
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- dash salt and pepper
- 1 lemon
- 2-4 cups white beans
- 1/4 cup water or vegetable stock
- greens (I used a large bunch of arugula and a huge bag of spinach)
Directions: In a large saute pan heat oil and add finely chopped garlic, toss in washed greens and mix well. Continue stirring until greens begin to wilt. You’ll need to add about 1/4 cup of water or stock liquid. Add salt, pepper and beans. Let cook until greens are cooked and bright green. Turn off heat and add the juice of one lemon. Mix lemon juice into greens and beans and serve.
Vegetarian Perspective 